Vast targets $2B valuation with Alibaba backing as AI startups outpace crypto for investor attention

A 29-year-old founder, a billion-dollar valuation, and Alibaba’s checkbook. Vast, the Beijing-based AI startup behind Tripo3D.ai, is eyeing a Hong Kong IPO at a $2 billion valuation, roughly double what it was worth after its most recent private funding round. The company, which specializes in generative AI for 3D modeling, raised nearly $200 million in its latest funding round, pushing its valuation to approximately $1 billion. Now it wants to go public at twice that number, with Bank of America and China International Capital Corp. (CICC) reportedly guiding the process. From unicorn to IPO candidate in months Back in March 2026, the company secured a $50 million round with backing from both Alibaba and Baidu Ventures. Months later, it closed a funding round nearly four times that size. The startup’s technology focuses on AI-generated 3D content creation, including gaming assets, e-commerce product renders, and design prototypes. Founder Simon Song Yachen is 29 years old. The company has zero connection to crypto or blockchain. Hong Kong’s dual identity Hong Kong has spent the past two years trying to position itself as both an AI hub and a regulated crypto center. It approved spo...